EU wants to raise its flag over Tory HQ

More on the unedifying story of the EU's London embassy. Long-suffering readers of this blog might recall that, in March, I broke the story that the European Commission and Parliament were spending a large hunk of your money on buying themselves a new joint headquarters in London.

The Tories have moved out, the EU wants to move in

I wondered what they were playing at. I mean, it's hardly as though Brussels is on the other side of the world. It's two hours away by train and 50 minutes by air, and is accessible by fax and email. What is it that 50 Eurocrats have to do in London that they couldn't do in their ugly, damp, grey capital?

It now turns out , kudos, as the Americans say, to Martin Callanan, the North East Tory MEP, for getting his hands on the facts , that things are even worse than I had thought. The EU is to buy premises far larger than it needs for 50 officials. Why? Because it is determined to fly its 12-star flag, and no landlord will allow it to do so while renting just one floor. The current preference of the officials is to shell out more than Â£20 million for 32 Smith Square, formerly Conservative Central Office, because it has a convenient flagpole. If the purchase goes through, it'll surely be the most expensive flagpole in history. So much, by the way, for the notion that the new version of the Euro-constitution will downgrade the EU's symbols.

Third, though, and much more important, the London embassy will provide job opportunities for Brussels officials. A Eurocrat based in London qualifies for a handsome weighting allowance, the most generous of any EU posting. If he isn't British, he also gets a generous expatriation allowance. Put these things together, and add in the fact that, as a Eurocrat, he barely pays tax, and you end up with a net salary almost twice his gross salary.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. The EU is no longer an ideological project. It is a racket. Federalism, political union, peace in Europe and so on have become optional extras. Its chief purpose, now, is to look after its own.